Record Stores Donating David Bowie Album Profits To Cancer Research

When rock idol David Bowie passed away Sunday, after an 18-month battle with liver cancer, fans were already flocking to record stores and online retailers to buy copies of “Blackstar” – the musician’s latest LP released on his 69th birthday just days before his death.

Now, there is extra motivation to do so if you live in London or New York where the Rough Trade record stores are honoring the star by donating all of the profits this month from any David Bowie album sales to Cancer Research UK.

So many fans visited the Rough Trade website to donate after the announcement was made that the server crashed several times, leaving the website unreachable.

“Copies of our Bowie albums were flying off the shelf,” Andy Larsen, events and marketing manager at the Rough Trade store in Brooklyn told Good News Network. “We were celebrating Bowie’s birthday here on Friday with a cake and a cover band and got two shipments of LPs since then–and we’ll be getting more.”

Their store on 64 North 9th Street joins three other shops in Nottingham and London paying tribute to the chameleon of rock by donating to the Cancer research group. Larsen says the New York location might be planning some informal gatherings in the future for fans to talk about Bowie’s influence.

“We felt it was important to honor the artist and his legacy, and sometimes when you’re selling an album after someone’s passing it can feel a little questionable or exploitative,” said George Flanagan, the manager of the Brooklyn location. “But the decision was made to donate the proceeds towards something positive.”